Riverside Cemetery looking for donations as part of Georgia Gives Day

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Georgia Gives Day is on Thursday. The annual fundraiser helps non-profits raise money. 

It’s a real life family tree. 

“There are 19,000 buried out here,” Steve Bell, the interim executive director of the cemetery’s conservancy, said. 

It’s hallowed ground with years of history. 

“Your fabric of your community history is very deep and we want people to come out here and explore it and so it’d be nice for us to raise money to take care of these things,” Bell said. 

The non-profit hosts events throughout the year to entertain, teach, and sometimes honor those who are buried at the cemetery. 

“We need to have a costume closet so that we can have period pieces so we can bring history to life for our community and to these school kids,” Bell said. 

He says the process isn’t cheap. That’s why he’s campaigning for Georgia Gives Day. 

“That’s kind of the beauty of ‘Georgia Gives Day’ is that it really democratizes giving. I mean anyone can be a philanthropist whether you have a few dollars or you have a lot of money,” Karen Beavor, the president and CEO of the Georgia Center for Non-Profits, said. 

The annual day of giving generates thousands of dollars, if not more, to non-profits. 

Bell points out maintaining the cemetery from cutting the grass to putting on those events can be costly. 

“There’s perpetual care. There are groundskeepers every day cutting grass, and even cutting grass for people who bought their plots in 1887,” Bell said. 

The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation named the cemetery as one of its 10 ‘Places in Peril’. There are plans in place to expand I-75, which borders the cemetery, that would remove trees from the cemetery. 

“When you start knocking down trees, you don’t have that buffer to protect those historical monuments as well. We’re always trying to preserve that history,” Bell said. 

That’s why he’s asking for help to conserve the piece of history. 

“We hope that we’re one of your favorite non-profits that people will give if it’s $10 or if it’s $1,000,” Bell said. 

Bell says he’s hoping to raise a couple of thousand dollars as part of Georgia Gives Day. 

If you’d like to donate to Riverside Cemetery in Macon or any other non-profit for Georgia Gives Day click here.